1. Field of the Invention
This invention pertains to a method of fixturing a shoe component such as a unit sole or a shoe last as it is cut by a numerically controlled milling apparatus.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The prior art is principally directed to the forming of lasts or components for shoe making by the well known fabricating of the last or component from a block of wood through modelling methods which produce individual lasts or component. In the well known methods of producing lasts or components it is common practice to start with the block of material such as wood and to hold it in a clamp, vice, or in hand during the last or component forming operation which cuts the block down to the shape desired. If, in the forming of the last or the component it becomes necessary to clamp the block, that may result in damage to the surface. It has been found that fixturing or clamping on an irregular or contoured surface might require as much time and skill as the actual cutting for producing the component, and it is this problem that the present invention seeks to avoid.
In some instances, lasts are made by casting the foot of a particular individual, shaping the cast to the form of a last and utilizing the cast as a last or as the model to produce a wood last with the aid of the usual last-making machinery. Such a procedure is disclosed in MacDonald U.S. Pat. No. 2,002,580 of May 28, 1935, and an example of last-making machinery is disclosed in Foster U.S. Pat. No. 1,269,273 of June 11, 1918.